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Art Galleries

Explore the Galleries

The Exhibits Program at Tohono Chul presents visual stories linking the nature, culture, and arts of the Southwest. Focusing on the work of regional artists, we display vibrant works of art in a diverse array of thematic group exhibits. The charming adobe Exhibit House, built as a private home in 1937, is an ideal environment for visitors to view Southwestern artworks. 50% of all exhibit sales help fund programs at Tohono Chul.

 

Questions? Please contact the Exhibits Department, exhibits@tohonochul.org

Exhibitions currently on display

GROUP EXHIBITION

SONORAN HOURGLASS: Behold the Gloaming Crepuscular

  • Open through Nov. 8, 2026
  • Exhibit House Main Gallery

Explore the fleeting transition of dusk and the shifting light, landscape, and rhythms of the Sonoran Desert.

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MIXED MEDIA / SCULPTURE

ZACH LIHATSH:
Bound

  • Open through Oct. 4, 2026
  • Exhibit House Entry Gallery

Zach Lihatsh is the first artist to exhibit his work for Tohono Chul’s 2026/2027 Entry Gallery Project Space Season.

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WATERCOLOR

REBECCA WILDER: The Other Side | El Otro Lado

  • Open through Nov. 8, 2026
  • Exhibit House Welcome Gallery

Rebecca Wilder’s watercolors explore the light, landscapes, and natural world of the borderlands.

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call for artists

Image credit (clockwise from left, details): Catherine Nash, Mikayla Hammock, and Karen Wright

SONORAN HOURGLASS:
Into the Inky night

  • Exhibition Dates: Nov. 19, 2026 – Jan. 31, 2027
  • Submission Deadline: Oct. 12, 2026

Tohono Chul invites artists to submit work for Into the Inky Night, the final installment of the SONORAN HOURGLASS exhibition series. This exhibition turns its focus to the Sonoran Desert after dark, exploring the landscape, plants, animals, atmosphere, shadows, and rhythms that emerge beneath the night sky.

Artists may submit up to three completed works in any two- or three-dimensional media for consideration. Selected artists will be notified by October 19, 2026.

PROSPECTUS & SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

Beyond the Galleries

Explore permanent collections, public art, and hidden artistic treasures that extend far beyond the gallery walls.

Roy J. Kurtz Collection of American Indian Art

Tohono Chul’s Permanent Collection continues to grow with the acquisition of the Roy J. Kurtz Collection of American Indian Art. One of the most significant gifts since Dick and Jean Wilson’s original collection, it offers rich opportunities for exhibitions and educational programming for years to come.

Art in the Gardens

Sculpture from Tohono Chul’s Permanent Collection including Mark Rossi, Fred Borcherdt, Kioko Mwitiki, David Weinert, Greg Corman, Ned Egan, along with work for sale by Tucson artists Joy Fox, Phil Lichtenhan, Tidhar Ozeri and more can be discovered throughout the gardens.

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Twilight Sonoran by Ignacio Garcia

Discover Twilight Sonoran, a vibrant mural by Tucson artist Ignacio Garcia celebrating the beauty and mystery of the Sonoran Desert after dark. The work brings the desert landscape to life through Garcia’s bold, imaginative style.

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Collections Corner

Over the years, unique vintage objects from five collections have been gifted but not accessioned into the Tohono Chul Permanent Collection and are now available for purchase. The Collections Corner helps support the gardens, galleries, and programs with 100% of each sale going directly to Tohono Chul. The Collections Corner offers a rare opportunity to acquire museum-quality artwork, jewelry, and objects.

Join Our Art Exhibits E-Mail Lists

To receive regular updates of our exhibitions and receptions, subscribe below and when prompted, select the Exhibition Announcements & Receptions email list.

NEWSLETTER

For Artists: To receive emails with exhibition opportunities including calls-for-entries, subscribe below and select the News and Opportunities for Artists email list.

FOR ARTISTS
Image: Details of works by Eduardo Palazuelos (top), Erinn Kennedy (bottom left), and Hannah Heaton (bottom right).

GROUP EXHIBITION

SONORAN HOURGLASS: Behold the Gloaming Crepuscular

  • Open through November 8, 2026
  • Exhibit House Main Gallery

A day is composed of 24 hours; split in half, the cycle is equal parts day and night, twelve-hour intervals – heralded by the transitional phases of dawn and dusk. The exhibition series SONORAN HOURGLASS will survey how time moves over the Sonoran Desert in the most obvious and subtle of ways – through the air: the light, the temperature, the mood, the pressure – through the landscape: the creatures, the water, the plants, the earth – through the cosmos. Using abstract notions and temporal quotients of past, present, and future, the classic form and function of an hourglass hearkens time’s effect in slow dissolution or methodical accretion, lending a timeless tone and romance to this project.

If circadian rhythms direct existence, what happens during dusk? What kind of art will truly Behold the Gloaming Crepuscular (dusk)?

Concentrating on the timeframe of dusk and all its workings, Behold the Gloaming Crepuscular is the third installment in the series, SONORAN HOURGLASS.

Image: Zach Lihatsh

mIXED MEDIA / SCULPTURE

ZACH LIHATSH: Bound

  • Open through October 4, 2026
  • Exhibit House Entry Gallery

Zach Lihatsh is the first artist to exhibit his work for Tohono Chul’s 2026/2027 Entry Gallery Project Space Season.

ARTIST STATEMENT

“Human existence is in opposition to the natural world. The modern human animal; wholly destroys, pollutes and consumes. Modern civilization takes its toll and devours the very thing that should be revered as its womb of life. To be born into this world, is to be forced into this contradiction.

We are compelled to live in ignorance or walk with an innate discomfort. Our inability to hold our discomfort and grief compels interpersonal conflicts, whether that be generational trauma, abuse, the many forms of addiction or our ability to no longer function socially. I seek to zoom in and examine this conflict. To identify the dividing lines of tensions. To create a space to sit with the discomfort as a form of mediation. Not only to reconcile the turmoil, but to find peace and beauty within it. To live with the awareness of our own demise means an awareness to do good and make change. But we must find peace in order to operate as agents of positive change. To find harmony within conflict. 

I gather influence from bonsai, textiles, and BDSM. Wood, reeds, grasses, and natural material,  retain a feminine strength in juxtaposition to forged and fabricated steel. These are the materials selected to dance between conflict and harmony. This is the series I call; ‘Bound’”.

 

Image (cropped): Rebecca Wilder

WATERCOLOR

REBECCA WILDER: The Other Side | El Otro Lado

  • Open through November 8, 2026
  • Exhibit House Welcome Gallery

Rebecca Wilder is a painter, designer, and book artist. She was raised in the Us – Mexico borderlands and currently lives with her husband in the Sonoran Desert and the mountains of Colorado.

“I’m fascinated by the light, large horizons, skies, and the magic of the natural world. Painting is my way into what Denise Levertov describes as ‘the parallel world, where we lose track of time and our own self-concerns.’”

The watercolor paintings exhibited are from her book, The Other Side. This book is a beautifully illustrated true story of overcoming fear and discovering trust.